Date: Mon, Aug 9, 2010

In honor of the great Michael Broadbent's 400th column for its magazine, Decanter Magazine today ran a story touting this achievement as well as giving us some insight into Mr. Broadbent's current and highly educated view of the world of...

Date: Mon, Aug 9, 2010

It's overcast in the town of Napa at 8:00am. It will be overcast in the town of Napa at 9:00am. And probably 10:00am too. Later in the afternoon, the temperature spring northward to somewhere around 79 or 80 degrees. When...

Date: Fri, Aug 6, 2010

A recent comment by the head of the Wine & Spirit Wholesalers Association got me thinking about an important question: Who is responsible for all the lawsuits that supporters of H.R. 5034 claim is the reason for this legislation? In...

Date: Tue, Aug 3, 2010

Wine is one of those rare products that in nearly every case in which it is used, it adds to the happiness of the occasion.In my world, I measure the value of a person, product, occasion, situation, place or time...

Date: Mon, Aug 2, 2010

Gallup's annual poll of who drinks and how many drink alcohol was released today. It turns out those who claim to drink alcohol is up, while those that claim to drink wine is slightly down. What' most interesting is what...

Date: Fri, Jul 30, 2010

Of late, this blog has concentrated a bit more than usual on the the politics and regulations concerning the alcohol beverage industry. The introduction of H.R. 5034 has prompted the relative increase in political posts. However, Fermentation is hardly the...

Date: Wed, Jul 28, 2010

The current state of H.R. 5034, a bill introduced into Congress on behalf of wholesalers that would give the middlemen the power to initiate and see passed state laws that protect their state-mandated control of the market in beer, wine...

Date: Mon, Jul 26, 2010

If, when you travel, you don't ask yourself, "Could I live here?", then I suspect you aren't traveling with your head, but rather just with your feat. And that's no way to travel. I was recently sitting at a window...

Date: Sat, Jul 24, 2010

“Pinot Noir is the tuning fork of the soul.” "I seek a Pinot that transmits truth.” “Pinot is the only grape that can legitimately be described as ethereal.” It all strikes me as a bit much to heap on one...

Date: Wed, Jul 21, 2010

Some products just don't lend themselves to being marketed by touting their primary function or benefit. Wine is a perfect example. Wine, like beer and spirits, is primarily differentiated from every other beverage not by its taste, not by its...

Date: Wed, Jul 21, 2010

The International Pinot Noir Celebration strikes me as an act of homage not too subtle. I find this somewhat ironic given that one of the things most of us love about Pinot Noir is it's nuanced and often subtle arrangement...

Date: Tue, Jul 20, 2010

Amazon reports today that over the past three months it sold more "Kindle" e-books than it has hardcover books. Undoubtedly this announcement will make its way into future accounts of the transformation of publishing and reading. And undoubtedly wine books...

Date: Mon, Jul 19, 2010

In regions like Napa, Sonoma, Anderson Valley, Finger Lakes and other wine producing regions where visitors have great choice which tasting rooms they'll visit and which bars they'll belly up to, the best piece of marketing a winery tasting room...

Date: Wed, Jul 14, 2010

With so much at stake for America's alcohol wholesalers and their protected monopoly status that props up unearned profits, it's no surprise they would swing for the fences with all their state-granted political power and attempt to pass H.R. 5034....